Within the past few years, the costs of residential heating have multiplied, and supplies of fuel oil and natural gas, the predominant sources of energy for generating heat for residential heating have become increasingly uncertain. The tremendous increase in cost and the uncertainty of supply have created a great demand for efficient and economical alternative sources of heat. Many persons rely upon their fireplaces as such a source; however, the low efficiency of the conventional fireplace, even those containing installed room heating apparatus, makes it a totally inadequate solution to the problem.
More and more people have been turning to wood as the most economical, readily available source of energy for residential heating. Although in years past, wood burning stoves were immensely popular and their use widespread, the old-fashioned wood burning stoves are far to inefficient taking into account today's larger residences and increased cost of wood fuel. Therefore, if wood burning stoves are to be a practical alternative to fuel oil or natural gas fired furnaces, there is a very real need for designs which exhibit maximum fuel burning efficiency and minimum capital investment.